


I remember when our feelings smudged together

by zimriya



Series: The last flame of my life (a Homin ABO AU) [9]
Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon Compliant, Coming Out, Fluff, M/M, alpha changmin, omega yunho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 12:21:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15796434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zimriya/pseuds/zimriya
Summary: In two weeks, Changmin will be discharged, Changmin will get to come home, and all the various planning, preparing, and researching they’ve been doing in the name of telling the world will finally come to fruition. Canon AU.





	I remember when our feelings smudged together

**Author's Note:**

> STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM. NOW WE’RE HERE. So, this fic is literally like. Gosh I’ve been sitting on waiting for this moment for MONTHS. Hexmen and I have been working towards this moment since we started plotting and fiddling with the first origin fic, honestly, and I am so happy that we’re finally here.
> 
> This fic takes place chronologically after every single fic in this universe except for a few things to come. It is the moment.
> 
> Betaed by Hexmen and Kinah. all other mistakes are my own.
> 
> Title is from ‘Sun & Rain’ by TVXQ.  
> 
> [PRIMER](http://zimriya.tumblr.com/aboau)

**I remember when our feelings smudged together**

\--

Yunho is fully aware that Jooyoung-hyung might actually snap and strangle him.

Changmin’s manager isn’t really Changmin’s manager anymore, not since they’ve been on hiatus for the past two years, but he still jumped at the chance to help chaperone Yunho in between schedules like old times because everyone had missed them when they were off on hiatus.

Moreover, in two weeks, that hiatus ends.

Changmin will be discharged, Changmin will get to come _home_ , and all the various planning, preparing, and researching they’ve been doing in the name of their planned 2017 Japanese comeback tour and their planned 2018 Korean comeback album will finally come to fruition.

They’ll go right to the top of that cliff, hold a three-day, three-country press conference, and by the end of it, Yunho will get to hold Changmin’s hand in public and talk about how he’s excited to be dating.

Everyone and their mother will know he’s an omega.

Everyone and their mother will know Changmin is an alpha. _His_ \--Yunho’s; no one else’s; not Song Qian’s; not Cho Kyuhyun’s--alpha.

Because they have to do it that way.

SM had looked them in the eye, and rather pragmatically listed off all the other celebrity omegas in the world, Jihoon-hyung foremost. Technically speaking, Jihoon-hyung didn’t even need to come out. He and Taehee-sunbaenim were married, expecting, and sporting matching mate marks on their wrists. Taehee-sunbaenim could have been an omega as well, and that protection alone would have kept netizens from destroying them completely. Certainly, it had helped Sungmin-hyung’s case.

But Jihoon-hyung had done it anyway, because the fact that he and Taehee-sunbaenim were an omega and a beta was really beside the point, given they were bonded and married and expecting and _soulmates_. If a beta and an omega could be soulmates--and have a beautiful, lovely baby--then South Korean society needed to shut up about every non-traditional couple.

Yunho’d been one month before discharge when all this was going down and had at least three of his omega squadmates come up to him looking starstruck about it.

Four months after discharge, and he’s already received letters from a bunch of his alpha and beta squadmates, thanking him for changing their opinions on the matter, with stories about the glee of telling their asshole home friends that their drill sergeant was both an omega and could snap them like a twig.

Yunho and Changmin don’t have the protection of a bond bite, because they don’t want to risk confusing everything by admitting to having lied to the fans for four years. (Career suicide, as SM had put it.) What they have instead, is the fact that any and all criticism of them both being men is put the rest by the fact that they can have children.

Changmin had been sour about it.

Yunho had been resigned to it.

SM had been adamant about it.

August 21, 2017, a press conference in Seoul at the Shilla Hotel, and Yunho and Changmin get to stand on a stage being broadcast to the South Korean press and their whole hoard of eagerly waiting fans, and hold each other’s hands.

Their entire world is going to change.

So Yunho wants the first time he sees Changmin post-military to be special. He doesn’t want it to be three days of non-stop heat--they can’t afford that when SM has them booked on flights to Tokyo and Hong Kong literally three days after Changmin’s discharged from service, but he doesn’t want it to be hindered by chemicals. He’s had enough of it in the military, regulated down to the exact date Changmin would need to take a leave of three days to come see to Yunho’s needs, as it were.

And yet, the week before Changmin is discharged, Jooyoung-hyung shows up to wrestle Yunho away from his final _Meloholic_ filming and back to SM in order to stand in a bathroom with him watching him swallow down suppressants.

“I’m having déjà vu,” Yunho says. He still hasn’t taken his pills.

Jooyoung-hyung is definitely going to strangle him.

“It’s like being back in the military,” Yunho clarifies.

Jooyoung-hyung stares back at him unimpressed. “Didn’t you have an unscheduled heat in the military?” he says.

Yunho glowers at him. “The military isn’t exactly swimming in funding,” he says. “My body wasn’t used to the lower grade stuff.”

Jooyoung-hyung keeps staring at him.

“Lower grade higher grade stuff,” he says. “And Changminnie--”

“Had a staged, normal rut the month afterwards with absolutely no risk of impregnating you,” Jooyoung-hyung finishes. “Now swallow.”

Yunho turns his glower on the pill bottle in Jooyoung-hyung’s hand. He takes it from the man. “Definitely like the military,” he grumbles.

Jooyoung-hyung sighs. “Yunho-yah--”

Yunho uncaps the bottle, pours out the pills, puts them on the back of his tongue, and gulps down a mouthful of water. He even sticks his tongue out to show Jooyoung-hyung once he’s done. It’s irrational to think he can feel them working, telling his body that ovulation has already happened and there’s no need to gear up for three days of ‘welcome back, Changdol, want to make a baby?’ Yunho still feels like he can, even if it’s just a sinking, dully aching feeling in the pit of his stomach.

It was probably pointless to have waited so long, but some part of Yunho was just aching to see Changmin. He hadn’t gone into heat the moment he was out of the army, probably because they’d set them up for an early, staggered late February slash early March set up to try to match up to Yunho’s disaster of January 2016 and Changmin’s subsequent visit in February 2016.  

Both of those had gone as planned, with Changmin disappearing from the police station to meet Yunho on base. Some poor cadet had ended up posted outside the room shouting on about condoms (which Yunho had been sure to tell Kyungjae-hyung about, since his old manager would for sure get a kick out of it). Changmin had teased Yunho to the point where going back to the rest of the army band was almost embarrassing.

Changmin’s 2017 rut went similarly, although there was less pressure for birth control given Yunho wasn’t supposed to be in heat. When Yunho showed up with bread from Changmin’s bakery like some sort of love sick fool, they’d made them use it regardless, since who knew what two years of not seeing each other was going to do to either of them.

Apparently, at most, two years without seeing each other was going to leave Yunho itching for it all the way from April to August, and SM Entertainment (by way of Kim Jooyoung) insisting that Yunho take pills.

Yunho’s brain wants to point out given their planned Japanese tour and Korean comeback, he and Changmin had very much been on board with the pills.

But he’s still annoyed about it, standing in the bathroom with his tongue out and his eyes trying not to roll.

“Thank you,” Jooyoung-hyung says. “Sorry.” He sounds it, and Yunho almost feels bad for making such a big fuss.

Yunho ducks his head, sets down the pill bottle, and sighs. “I’m sorry,” he says, because he’d been waiting for as long as possible like SM wasn’t going to force the issue. “I was being selfish.”

Jooyoung-hyung gets an odd look on his face like he wants to say more, but he doesn’t because he’s not Kyungjae-hyung.

Yunho doesn’t know if he’s happy about that or not.  

“Though to be fair, it’s probably better I waited so long.”

Jooyoung-hyung lifts a brow.

“Different brands,” Yunho says. “Also, my doctor told me I should let the stuff work its way out of my system before going back.” His doctor had also said a bunch of really terrifying things that made Yunho feel like he was back in March 2014, but he’d held it together through force of will and with the knowledge that Changmin would cuff him on the back of the head for spiraling back down that dark path without him.

“Right,” Jooyoung-hyung says. “Are you planning on collecting him next week?”

Yunho blinks. Some part of him is still itching to say something nasty like ‘I didn’t know they’d allow me to,’ but that would be irrational and incorrect. SM hasn’t had real power over him since he and Changmin did two dome tours and Nissan Stadium. “No,” he says. “Do you think he wants me to collect him?”

Jooyoung-hyung’s eyes crinkle at the corners. “Well, Suju went to get each other.”

“Suju are Suju,” Yunho says. “And I heard Donghae cried.”

Jooyoung-hyung’s lips twitch. “Donghae absolutely cried,” he says. “He might have cried for his own, too, but mostly I think he was just trying not to have a panic attack about it.”

Yunho’s mouth turns down. He starts to leave the bathroom to head back towards the practice rooms. “Are they going to be better about that for Changdol?”

Jooyoung-hyung follows him. “We’re going to put out a statement asking for a quiet discharge.”

Yunho snorts. “You put out a statement asking for a quiet enlistment,” he says. “For both of us.”

Jooyoung-hyung shrugs.

Yunho smiles back at him helplessly. “Didn’t stop the fans.”

“They missed you,” Jooyoung-hyung says.

“Yeah, well, I had a parking lot,” Yunho says. They’ve reached the practice room.

Jooyoung-hyung follows him into the room, grinning around at the staff and dancers who’ve been loitering waiting for them.

Guyoung looks the most guilty of them all, since he was the one who’d sniffed in Yunho’s general direction and prompted Jooyoung-hyung into action.

Yunho just smiles at him and goes for the couches. They’re not working on anything right now--technically they’d been here to work a little bit on the upcoming concert series they’re planning for TVXQ’s welcome back, but Yunho’s been a little too busy listening to the demo of their newest Japanese single and trying to imagine choreography for that.

He’s been coming up short. It’s hard, when it’s not him and Changmin singing yet. They’ll have the vocals done after the 21st, but by then they’ll also be out and proud, and Yunho doesn’t know how to separate those nerves from the song yet.

It’s called ‘Reboot.’ There’s something incredibly beautiful in that, Yunho thinks.

“Right,” he says, to everyone gathered. “What were we doing again?”

“Brainstorming,” Hyoje says.

“Trying to figure out how much we’d have to pay you to get you to dance to girl groups,” Guyoung adds.

Yunho blinks at them. “Don’t you mean Changminnie?”

“Changminnie’s already done the full shaved legs thing,” Guyoung brushes off. “He’s fine.”

Yunho blinks some more.

Behind him, Jooyoung-hyung smirks. “I think the fans would love it if you did girl group dances,” he says.

Yunho narrows his eyes at him. “Changminnie definitely told you to say that,” he says.

Jooyoung-hyung raises both hands in defense. “No comment,” he says.

\--

He sees Changmin on the 9th of August at SUM Café and is immediately so irrationally nervous that the first thing Changmin says to him once they’ve finished vanishing into the elevator away from prying eyes is, “Did someone die?”

They’re trapped with Jooyoung-hyung for Changmin and a new manager for Yunho, and Yunho is like ninety percent certain that this one isn’t a hyung. Which is terrifying in and of itself--maybe he can blame his nerves on that.

“What?” he says.

Changmin leans across the admittedly small space to fiddle with the fall of Yunho’s half-grown-back in bangs.

Yunho dips his head to help. “I mean. No. I’m not nervous.”

Changmin’s fingers still on Yunho’s forehead. “Uh huh,” he says.

Jooyoung-hyung very purposefully leans in towards the other manager. “They’re about to kiss,” he fake whispers.

Yunho colors slightly and pulls away from Changmin’s hand. “We are not.”

“We totally were,” Changmin counters, reaching out to keep fussing with Yunho’s hair.

Yunho is still coloring. “Were not--”

“Were too--”

“They’re definitely going to kiss now,” Jooyoung-hyung says.

“Honestly I think you’re both really brave,” new manager-ssi says. He looks around at the both of them with wide, almost star-filled eyes.

Yunho feels his own narrow.

Changmin drops a hand down to palm the back of Yunho’s neck and shoulder instead. “Thank you,” he says easily. “But for what, exactly.”

Jooyoung-hyung’s scent goes faintly amused, but newest manager-ssi just blinks at Changmin.

“For not being afraid to tell the world you love each other,” the man explains. He sounds a little lost.

Yunho leans a little into Changmin’s touch on his shoulder. “Thank you,” he says.

Changmin smiles. “I like you,” he decides. Yunho snorts.

“He’s going to ruin you,” he whispers.

“Shut up. I do like you--I’m happy to be working with you…”

“Youngtak,” newest manager-ssi says. “Kim Youngtak.”

Changmin dips his head. “He’s younger than Hyung, isn’t he?” he says to Jooyoung-hyung in an aside.

The elevator doors ding open and Changmin tightens his grip on Yunho’s shoulder for one more second before stepping through the now open doors with Jooyoung-hyung in tow.

Youngtak-ssi is left smiling awkwardly beside Yunho.

Yunho puts a conspiratory arm around the man. “Don’t worry,” he says. “I’ll look after you.”

“I don’t think I am actually younger than you,” Youngtak-ssi says, but lets Yunho walk them both through the halls to catch Changmin and Jooyoung-hyung regardless.

\--

Changmin turns to Yunho one hour into finessing set lists for their Korean comeback fan meeting and says, “No really, why are you nervous?”

There’s a lull. Their managers are focusing on the logistics for the venue itself, back and forth with the Jamsil representatives figuring out things like cost and capacity and things Yunho was highly invested in at the start of the meeting but at this point, is halfway bored of. He’ll review everything later regardless, back in the safety of his apartment.

Changmin’s got his hands steepled together on the table and he’s not all the way to yawning, but he’s clearing pushing the issue because otherwise he might start.

Yunho would feel bad.

Yunho is honestly just glad not to be anxious anymore. “I’m not nervous,” he gets to say.

Changmin looks at him like he can tell Yunho wanted to finish that sentence by adding, ‘I’m bored.’ He lifts one eyebrow.

Yunho reaches out to stroke it before he can help himself. “I hope they fix those first,” he says.

Changmin lets Yunho feel up his face. “Rude,” he says.

Yunho waggles his own brows. “You told me I looked hot when I was finished being remade as an idol,” he says.

Changmin’s nostrils flare a little. “You always look hot,” he says.

Yunho lets his thumb drag away from Changmin’s eyebrow and down to rest on the high of his left cheekbone. “I think it’s safe to say you’re biased,” he breathes.

Changmin meets his gaze full on. “I think it’s safe to say most of East Asia agrees with me,” he replies.

Yunho swallows. “Most of East Asia isn’t married to me.”

“I’m not either,” Changmin says. “Also, you’re proving my point.

Yunho isn’t sure if he should smack him or pout at him. “Yeah, well.”

“The whole world finds you hot, Yunho-hyung,” Changmin says. He sounds almost annoyed about it.

Yunho pulls his hand away before Jooyoung-hyung can pull rank and slap them both on the back of the head like something out of a movie. “The whole world isn’t married to me--” he says, a little nonsensically but still trying frantically to hold to his train of thought.

“The whole world is about to find out I’m as good as,” Changmin says.

Yunho stops feeling quite so in the mood abruptly, the irrational butterflies back in full force.

Changmin’s eyes sharpen. “Yah, that,” he says. “Why are you doing that?”

“The whole world is not about to find out you’re as good as married,” someone says from across the table, turning Yunho’s attention back around. “Because you’re not telling them you’re as good as married.”

It’s the SM executive next to Jooyoung-hyung, arms crossed in a way that’s too closed off to be quite casual and sounding very done with the entire conversation.

Yunho doesn’t even feel bad that he doesn’t remember the man’s name. (He does, probably, actually. He’s still not about to work to produce it.)

Jooyoung-hyung shifts infinitesimally in his own seat so that he’s leaning a little closer to Yunho than the executive, a physical and calming barrier.

Changmin starts to give off pleased pheromones in response.

Jooyoung-hyung’s eyes twinkle briefly.

Yunho meets everyone’s eyes. “No, I know,” he says. “We’re just dating.”

Changmin reaches down to take Yunho’s hand in his. “Yep, dating,” he says, giving it a comforting squeeze. “And then when that goes well because it’s 2017 and people aren’t absolute heartless heathens--George Clooney-sunbaenim just had twins and gave an interview about how he wanted to be the one to carry them and nobody in America tried to have him deported--”

“He’s American, Changmin,” Youngtak mutters from Yunho’s other side. “Also, nobody is going to deport you over how your body works--”  

“I don’t think you can call him sunbaenim when he’s not even Korean,” someone else adds in. “Or… you’re both actors… so maybe?”

Yunho is too busy staring at Changmin with his own set of sparkling eyes because it turns out his other half was listening when Yunho was excitedly telling him about the interview in question.

“Whatever,” Changmin says, only a little pink in the cheeks. “My point is we’re mated and you _know_ we’re mated and when it’s been a suitable amount of time of dating and dancing and whatever the heck else--”

“I don’t know why I was surprised Yunho agreed to mate him,” Youngtak mutters from Yunho’s side again. “Dating and dancing literally sounds like Yunho’s dream--”

Yunho snickers despite himself.

Changmin keeps talking over the both of them. “The rest of the world is going to know we’re mated and everything will be _fine_ ,” he finishes dramatically. He squeezes Yunho hand again, and this time Yunho definitely thinks he’s doing it to comfort himself.

So he squeezes back a little bit, and then a lot when Changmin turns towards him looking a little annoyed, and then a _lot_ a lot when Changmin starts scowling at him and trying to get away.

“Yunho-hyung,” he says.

“Aw, Changdollie,” Yunho says, still holding onto his hand and starting to use it to try to haul Changmin close enough so that he can get him by the still army-round cheeks. “Changdollie. Changdollie. You’re so sweet--”

“I will _kill you_ \--” Changmin threatens at the same time Yunho gets him by the face. “ _Yah_!”

Everyone at the table is smiling at them both when Yunho finally releases his blushing, flustered mate.

“South Korea loves love,” Jooyoung-hyung says finally. “They’re going to eat them up.”

“Also, we have a lot of ideas about couple items,” that SM Executive from before says.

“Yes,” Youngjun-hyung says suddenly, drawing Yunho’s eyes back towards him. He’s leaned up against a wall still holding a piece of paper with their itinerary and tentative plans for Your Present. “But first. The concert.”

Yunho settles back into his seat neatly. “Right,” he says. “The concert.”

“Couple items?” Changmin says at his side. “What do you mean couple items.”

“Just like t-shirts,” Jooyoung-hyung says. “So, opening song is ‘Something’?”

“ _T-shirts_?” Changmin is still sputtering.

Yunho grabs him by the hand again and squeezes it like he means business. “I’m good with ‘Something’ after the opening VCR,” he says.

\--

Changmin fucks up his final salute.

Yunho hears about it from Donghae, who hears about it from Siwon, who left with family friends from the police station and ended up meeting up with Jungsoo-hyung, Hyukjae, and Donghae at SUM café for a semi public meal and reunion.

Yunho gets it. Last he saw him, Donghae talked about how it was weird both being back, but also not being around Siwon and Changmin all the time. He’d laughed, reached for Yunho immediately like, ‘Gross, Hyung, please don’t be jealous. Changminnie’s like a _brother_ to me--’ and Yunho had just laughed at him and taken his hands and smiled.

He also had a moment of déjà vu to all the odd moments he and Hyukjae had intersected on active duty working various performances and also on their army produced music video, because they had severely limited contact with the outside world, and all the stories about Changmin and Siwon getting naked and cuddling with Donghae took time to trickle back to Yunho and Hyukjae.

But that was probably something he and Hyukjae would be taking to the grave.

So Yunho hadn’t mentioned anything.

Also, he’s not surprised that Eunhae were Siwon’s welcome committee.

He is a little surprised that he hadn’t received a Changmin on his doorstep immediately following. He’s still in the man’s apartment and everything.

 _Well, is he with you, then?_ he asks Donghae, walking his way through Changmin’s apartment carrying an empty mug. _I haven’t seen him_.

 _I think someone saw him with Manager-hyung at SM,_ Donghae replies immediately. _But he’s not with us_. _Why? He’s not with you_.

 _No,_ Yunho pouts, _pouts_ , and then lowers his phone. Changmin’s sink and kitchen isn’t the only part of the apartment that is spotless, but that’s because Yunho doesn’t really cook for himself. Also, he’s been on unofficial orders to _not_ live out of Changmin’s apartment with him the moment he was able to. They couldn’t have Changmin go to work smelling married before they were ready to tell the world.

He sets the mug down in the sink and turns on the tap to give it a rinse. _I feel like I’m the only person he hasn’t come to see yet_.

Donghae is having none of Yunho’s maudlin bullshit. _He wasn’t very happy about seeing everyone else,_ he says. _I don’t blame him. That shit was terrifying_.

Yunho saw the videos from Donghae’s discharge, had a hand in the notice they sent out the day of Changmin’s, and got sent a few of the photos the press took of Changmin leaving service by several bemused managers. The accompanying texts had included quite a few emoticons and also well wishes.

Yunho might have purposefully messed up Changmin’s apartment a little more in hopes that he could exacerbate the annoyance to handcuff-Yunho-to-the-bed level.

 _It was_ , he says. _Was the army mad at them both?_

Donghae is silent for a little longer this time.

Yunho gives the mug a swish before setting it down in the empty sink to soak a little. He moves off towards Changmin’s sofa, still clutching his phone. _Donghae?_

 _Livid_ , Donghae replies. _Oh. Gotta go. Hyukjae and Siwon are back._

 _From the bathroom?_ Yunho says before he can help himself. _Did they go together? Alphas_.

 _XD_ , Donghae replies.

Yunho grins and sets his phone aside for a brief second. He does a cursory search on Twitter and Instagram to see what people are saying about Changmin, before pulling up his latest messages with Changmin’s manager.

_Jooyoung-hyung. Where did you take Changmin?_

Jooyoung-hyung replies immediately. _To your place_ , he says. _And Yunho. I would clean Changmin’s apartment ASAP. He was pissed._

Yunho goes a little bit shivery despite himself. _Did you tell him I hadn’t even been living there really, like. It’s not my fault_. He’d been so busy with _Meloholic_ and ‘Drop’ that taking care of his place became secondary.

 _He cleaned it before he enlisted, Yunho-yah_ , Jooyoung-hyung says. _We’re like ten minutes away. He drove_.

Yunho opens and closes his mouth a few times. _Oh_.

_I’m not even coming up with him so just remember you have the press conference in three days and we’d really like you to be able to walk--_

Yunho sputters out a startled, pleased bark of laughter. “Jooyoung-hyung!” he says out loud. _Thank you!_ he texts.

 _I’m not kidding,_ Jooyoung-hyung says.

Yunho screencaps the conversation and sends it to Kyungjae-hyung. _You see what I have to deal with?_ he says. _What do I have to pay you for you to come back?_

 _Need I remind you I spent all of 2012 with a spray bottle like the two of you were extremely horny cats?_ his former manager says. _No amount in the world_ \--

Yunho snickers and sets his phone to the side.

Then he gets up to try to reduce the amount of damage he’s done to Changmin’s apartment.

\--

“Hi,” Changmin says, on his own doorstep. He’s in plain clothes with a face mask and a hat pushing down his ears and Yunho is so in love with him he can barely breathe. “What the fuck did you do to my apartment?”

“I love you,” Yunho says. “Later. First. _I love you_ \--”

Changmin crosses to kiss him. “I love you too.”

Really, it’s fine Yunho messed up Changmin’s place; they mess it up plenty together immediately following.

\--

The suit their stylists give Changmin is a lovely shade of purple that really does its best to highlight the fact that Changmin was mostly trapped inside for his twenty one months of service in bad lighting. Outside in the hotel garden where SM makes them take a selfie for their newly established Instagram and Twitter accounts, it just makes him look like every dream Yunho’s had since he wasn’t sleeping beside the man every other day.

Conversely, Yunho’s got an all-black number worn over a simple t-shirt, which his stylists assure him is perfectly fine for their first public appearance reunited.

“But is it perfect for our first public appearance as a couple?” Yunho asks, backstage at the Shilla Hotel waiting for Youngtak to signal them to head to the stage for the event itself. The fans already know they’re here, having caught sight of them on their way back inside the hotel, but Jooyoung-hyung had ushered them away from prying eyes before Yunho could do more than smile towards them. There had been signs.

Yunho wanted to relish in them, but part of him still worried they’d be the last ones.

There’s a reason idols don’t publicly date much.

He swallows back his nerves and keeps smiling down at his stylist.

She stares back at him and reaches for the hem of his t-shirt.

“Hey, hey,” Changmin says, swirling back into Yunho’s general atmosphere and settling into his right side like he’d never left. “Hand off. This is mine.”

Yunho would smack him for that, but he smiles despite himself. He’s so giddy and nervous it feels hard to breathe; Changmin’s grounding, and Yunho will take all the support he can get. “I just want to look really nice in all the pictures, Changdollie,” he says softly.

His stylist works around Changmin without even a pause. “You will,” she says when she’s done. “You look good.”

“The selca is good,” Changmin concedes, shoving his phone in Yunho’s face happily. “Look how many likes we have.”

Yunho looks.

Yunho blinks.

Yunho swallows. “We have a lot of followers.”

“We do,” Changmin says. “Wait until we get personal accounts.”

Yunho rolls his eyes. “You just want to show off.”

Changmin grins at him. “Not my fault you’re bad at Instagram, Hyung.”

“Um, yes, since you were the one so opposed to having them to begin with--”

Changmin fakes insult. “I was not,” he says. “It totally was _you_ \--”

“They’ll be ready for you soon,” Jooyoung-hyung interjects, standing in front of them holding a walkie talkie. He’s dressed in all black too to blend in, and he actually looks a little bit nervous, now that Yunho looks at him fully.

Myunghwan-hyung is standing behind him, ready to escort them out of the behind the scenes back into the spotlight.

Yunho’s palms sweat a little.

Changmin steps into his line of sight. “Yunho-hyung,” he says. “It’ll be fine.”

Yunho thinks about the articles they’d signed off on to go out alongside the press photos. Yunho thinks of the scripts they’d signed off on to try to stick to when announcing. Yunho thinks about the omegas he’d served with in the 26th division, and how they’d looked at him with stars in their eyes when he won best recruit and the honor of being a Special Class Soldier.

He thinks of Donghae, quietly taking time out of Super Junior’s already busy schedule to video call him that morning to go over what exactly he would say.

He thinks of Changmin, ready to tell the fans more than they needed to know to keep Yunho from having to do this.

He breathes.

Changmin’s gaze sharpens. “Stall,” he says, and takes Yunho by the hand and hauls him out of the room and down the hall before anyone can say anything.

It’s easy to find a corner, harder still not to be nervous about the fact that they’re out in the hotel without the protection of literally anyone, but before Yunho can think about that, Changmin is standing nose to nose with him.

“Can I kiss you?”

“Please do,” Yunho says, and tips his head up because Changmin’s in shoelifts and Yunho didn’t feel like grabbing his own.

Changmin smiles at him, shuts his eyes before their mouths meet, and kisses Yunho so sweetly Yunho would wonder if this wasn’t all an elaborate ruse and their entire friend group and family are about to jump out and shout ‘surprise. You’re married now.’

“This is lovely,” Yunho tells Changmin, eyes shut, still pressed up against his lips. “But if I wanted you to kiss me like we were on our first date, Changdol, I’d have made you stay in the room with all of our staff--”

Changmin snorts, growls, laughs, and puts both hands on Yunho’s ass. “An erection is not a good look in front of the entire nation, Yunho-yah,” he says. “But as you wish--”

“Well I mean, you don’t have to go that far--”

Changmin opens an eye. “Oh, I really do,” he says, and kisses Yunho.

It’s a steaming sort of kiss. Changmin keeps his hands on Yunho’s ass only barely, rucking up the hemline their stylists so helpfully straightened so that it would sit perfectly for photos, and stroking along the skin of Yunho’s lower back through the cotton of the t-shirt. It’s tucked in and he doesn’t yank it out and Yunho really loves him for that, because stalling can only get them so much time and he really would rather not get on stage having been near murdered by a furious stylist.

Changmin still puts a leg between Yunho’s, leans back against a wall and hauls Yunho with him so Yunho’s the one pinning him.

“You’re the worst,” Yunho tells him, sighing through the kiss and getting his hands in Changmin’s hair--and then redirecting on a yelp when Changmin bites him. “Making it out like this was my idea.”

“Making out was your idea,” Changmin says, voice a low rumble and eyes half-lidding so that he can gaze down at Yunho between his perfect lashes. “Yunho-yah.”

Yunho shivers and leans in for even more kisses. “Mm, well,” he says right up against Changmin’s cheekbone. “You pulled me into an empty hallway.”

Changmin gives Yunho’s waist the tiniest of squeezes. “I didn’t even look if it was empty.”

Yunho squeaks a little and does that.

It’s empty.

Thank God.

Changmin is still leaned up against the wall smirking at him, hands clasped behind Yunho’s back, leg pressed between Yunho’s thighs. “We won’t need to look and see if it’s empty after this,” he says.

Yunho’s heart starts pounding again, but it’s less nerves and more desire. Eagerness, maybe. He can’t really tell.

“There you are,” Changmin says.

Yunho twists his lips at him. “You’re such a cliché, Changmin.”

“Your cliché,” Changmin says. He’s still smiling. “And before you ask, I’m scared too.”

Yunho stops.

Changmin shrugs at him, a touch pink. “What?” he says. “Why are you surprised? Aren’t I supposedly more private than you?”

Yunho mulls that over. “But you seemed so calm about it,” he says.

Changmin shrugs. “You needed me to be,” he says. He says it like he’s daring Yunho to take issue with that, to fight the roles they’re settling into tooth and nail.

Yunho thinks about it, lets the feeling wash over him, and very pointedly doesn’t rise to the bait. “Thank you,” he says politely.

Changmin’s eyes _flash_. “You’re welcome,” he says.

Yunho’s mouth waters. He dips down to kiss Changmin. “I’m sorry I didn’t notice you were nervous,” he says.

Changmin is unbothered. “I was hiding it from you,” he says.

Yunho rolls his eyes. “Right,” he says. “The only reason you got away with that was because I was nervous myself.”

Changmin’s hands end up on both of Yunho’s hips, thumbs resting on the bone. “Sure,” he says.

Yunho wants to bite him. He settles for untangling their legs, feeling just a shade too exposed to be standing in public with Changmin’s thigh right up against his dick.

When Changmin’s mouth parts on a protest, he puts a finger into the center of it. “Just because we’re allowed to get caught kissing in public doesn’t mean we ought to get caught kissing in public,” he says.

Changmin’s lips still part a little, but instead of speaking he licks the pad of Yunho’s index finger. “Oh, are you planning on kissing me on stage?” he says.

Yunho wants to hit him. “No,” he says. “I think Youngmin-seonsaengnim might sack us on the spot.”

Changmin’s eyes crinkle. “I think that’s a hate crime,” he says.

Yunho opens his mouth. “You--” he says. “Who are you?”

“The love of your life?” Changmin says.

“Very, very _late_ \--” Jooyoung-hyung shouts from around a corner. “And no, you’re not kissing on stage.”

“We’re not late,” Changmin calls back. “I changed your watch in the car. Check your phone.”

“Jooyoung-hyung isn’t the only person with a watch,” Yunho says dryly, over the sudden sputtering from around the corner.

Youngtak gets chosen as sacrificial lamb and comes around with his hands over his eyes.

Yunho steps away from Changmin but gets stuck when Changmin grabs his hand. “You can look,” he says.

Youngtak opens his eyes. “They’re decent,” he says.

Their stylists and cordis descend on them, makeup noonas coming for both of them with shrewd eyes and color high on their cheeks.

“Changmin has a really good mouth,” Yunho tells one of the older ones, because they’ve been working together for so long that she’s as good as his sister, and he’s giddy on the pheromones Changmin’s been giving off.

“No kissing,” Jaeyoung-hyung says, standing over by Myunghwan-hyung. “But really. They’re about to announce you.”

Yunho lets the makeup noonas finish with his lips. “What about holding hands?” he says, looking down at his and Changmin’s linked hands.

Their managers exchange a look, then collectively shrug. “Whatever you want,” they say.

Yunho glances at Changmin out of the corner of his eye. “What do you say, love of my life?” he says.

Changmin grips Yunho’s hand tighter, palm a hint clammy with the nerves he probably wasn’t really hiding. “Absolutely not,” he says. “They’re going to say something like we’re the kings of Kpop, aren’t they?” He eyes Jaeyoung-hyung warily.

Their entourage starts moving them towards the room.

“No,” Jaeyoung-hyung says. He sounds utterly unconvincing.

Changmin shoots Yunho a look. “The kings of Kpop, Hyung,” he says.

Yunho wants to giggle before they’ve even had a chance to hear Sukjoon-hyung say it into the microphone.

“I mean it’s true,” Jaeyoung-hyung says grudgingly.

Yunho has a feeling he was the one who passed that note along to Sukjoon-hyung. Or at least, signed off on that little detail.

“It’s embarrassing,” Changmin says. “I’ve only been a citizen for three days--”

“You’re only going to be a citizen for three days if you don’t walk _faster_ ,” Jooyoung-hyung says.

Changmin sticks his tongue out at them and walks faster.

At the doorway, before they have to go through it and around the corner to cross to the beautifully arranged stage, Yunho grips Changmin’s hand a little tighter and pauses them. He can hear the flashbulbs and the cameras and the conversation coming from the room.

He can practically already feel himself going momentary blind the moment they go around the corner. His heart pounds preemptively. His palms itch.

“Changdol-ah,” he says. “I love you.”

Changmin looks back at him, eyes the managers standing behind them, and kisses Yunho again. It’s a soft, easy sort of kiss, but somehow just as blazing as the one in the hallway.

Yunho closes his eyes and kisses him back, head tipped to the side.

“I love you too,” Changmin says. “Now walk.”

Yunho goes first, not even waiting to see if Changmin’s following him, to be bombarded by cameras and fans and the press, gathered to see them after two years of hiatus. “Wow,” he says, and he definitely says it, so that the first photos of him are just him with his mouth open and Changmin’s foot in the background.

Sukjoon-hyung directs them to the stage for the photos, turning them left and right and center with their hands up and their arms around each other and it’s like coming home, if not migraine inducing. Yunho stares out at the span of reporters and cameras and clutches Changmin like if he stops they’ll both topple over. There’s a lot of smiling. A lot of waving.

It’s good.

They bring them chairs, ask them about what it’s like to be back, what their plans are for the future, how it felt to come back, what they missed the most in the army, and even what variety programs they want to be on.

Yunho names drops _Knowing Brother_ knowing they’re going on _Knowing Brother_ second, since _Happy Together_ is Yoo Jaesuk’s show, and Yoo Jaesuk is the nation’s MC.

Changmin flusters Sukjoon-hyung talking about _Free 19_.

Every time anyone other than Sukjoon-hyung or Yunho speaks, Changmin nods, swivels in his chair and gestures at Yunho like he wants Yunho to speak first. It’s adorable. It reminds Yunho of 2012, of 2011, when Changmin had to be physically fought to use the microphone.

He grins through it and answers when it’s his turn, one foot up on his chair.

And then the question happens--tell us about your fourteen-year bond. Tell us about how you met up in the military a lot, and how you feel like you’ve gotten closer since then, even if you don’t express it in words. Also, could you take the time to speak to each other a little bit.

Changmin’s handing the microphone off to Yunho but Yunho’s sending it right back to him before he can stop himself, trying to gather his thoughts. He has to smile a little as he does so, taken back to 2011 when Changmin wouldn’t have started speaking as quickly as he does now.

“Since it was just the two of us for a while, I actually found it embarrassing and didn’t express myself much in the beginning,” Changmin starts with, turning to face Yunho mid-sentence.

Yunho stares at him, meets his eyes and grounds himself, nodding and smiling and trying to appear at ease.

“Especially as an alpha and with hyung as an omega--we were very different.”

There’s a pause.

Yunho watches the flashbulbs increase, listens to the hum of the crowd as the words go through them.

“But during my time in the army, I was able to reflect a lot about how much of a cold-hearted dongsaeng I was to Yunho-hyung.”

Yunho wants to snort. He settles for laughing a little, staring around at the crowd. In the front row, a reporter is whispering to another, eyes wide, mouth moving frantically. Yunho can practically hear the tweets typing themselves: _did Changmin-oppa really just say that? We must have misheard. Yunho-oppa is an omega?_

He keeps his gaze ahead. Changmin’s rambling on about family and the army and how you become more mature and aware of how precious your loved ones are. He’s careful about his wording, and the crowd whispers after that one as well.

Yunho kind of wants to hit him or something, but he’s mostly trying to prep for his part. Changmin’s just supposed to introduce their designations and change in relationship, but Yunho’s the one who’s got to finish it off.

“During my service, I really focused on how important my family, my friends, my Yunho-hyung, and my fans are,” says Changmin. He puts no emphasis on all the possessives, but the one attached to Yunho’s name gets everyone’s attention.

The cameras are still going off, but what little of the reporters Yunho can parse look charmed. The female half in particular, which Yunho had hoped would happen, and had been counting on happening, and had been told by SM would happen. He feels almost light headed.

“I want to treat Yunho-hyung well,” Changmin finishes with, pleased with himself.

Everyone laughs.

Changmin laughs.

Yunho nods, lets himself laugh as well, and raises his microphone. “I actually wanted to congratulate Changmin on his discharge,” he starts with, which is safe. Talking about how they grew up a lot when they were separated is true. They did a lot of growing. Yunho stopped focusing so much on how very much his lifestyle was counter to his ultimate dreams. He bulked up because he had to bulk up, forgot what it was like to diet and focused instead on putting on the necessary muscle mass to stave off a war. His doctor looked at him in April 2017 and told him he was impressed, and that all the worries and anxiety from March 2014 probably were no more.

The first thing Changmin said to Yunho in the New Year was ‘our contracts have to include clauses for coming out. I want to marry you.’

They were the epitome of grown up.

Yunho swallows, puts his hand on Changmin’s arm, and pulls it away. “I’ve said this a lot, but the person who’s been with me for my worst times, my happiest times, my most excited times--through _everything_. That person is Changmin.”

The mark on Yunho’s hips throbs in time with each word.

At his side, Changmin is a rock, nodding, smiling, and looking shy. His mouth moves around words, ‘hurry it up, Hyung, I’m going to kill you,’ that are too quick for anyone but Yunho to figure out. Yunho thinks you’d have to be the love of Changmin’s life, the other half of his soul, and have lived fourteen years at his side to figure that out.

“We want to show fans more of that. Show them our relationship.” Yunho doesn’t know how he gets the words out, but he puts the microphone down in time for Changmin to reach for him. The chairs aren’t close enough for that to be subtle in the slightest.

Yunho holds Changmin’s hand right back, stares out a sea of indiscernible faces, and lets the reality of the situation wash over them.

“You’re trending,” Sukjoon-hyung says. “The world can feel how much you care about each other.”

Changmin laughs.

Yunho lets go of his hand and stares straight ahead.

He wonders when it’ll sink in, just how far they’ve come.

\--

“Perhaps we didn’t think this through,” Changmin says, changed out of his suit and fiddling with the sunglasses a stylist handed him. “We have like zero hours. I don’t want to fly to Tokyo. You don’t want to fly to Tokyo. Can you even remember how to speak Japanese? Hyung.”

Yunho stares at him and then shoves his sleeves up over his wrists a bit fruitlessly. “This is the worst trend,” he says.

Changmin looks at him.

“Sweater paws?” Yunho says and gives the sleeves of his sweater a shake.

Changmin looks down at Yunho’s hands. He meets Yunho’s eyes. “I think you look cute.”

“You want to be good to me,” Yunho says immediately.

“I’m the most precious person who’s been with you through everything,” Changmin retorts.

“This is lovely and the netizen reaction has been overwhelmingly good as well, but we have a flight to catch,” Jaeyoung-hyung says.

Yunho frowns. “I want to go around and meet the press,” he says.

“You know a bunch of them,” Changmin says. “Hyung.”

“I want to go around and meet them,” Yunho says again, brow furrowed. _I want to make sure they won’t look at me any differently, now that they know I’m an omega_.

“Yah.” Changmin reaches out to help Yunho right his sweater sleeves so that they sit along the line of his knuckles. “Fuck them, if they’re weird now.”

Yunho wants to kiss him.

Yunho.

Yunho _could_.

He wants to sit down. “Fuck, Changmin,” he gets out. “Changmin I can kiss you.”

Changmin lifts a brow. “Maybe we should hurry. I think they broke you, and I want to get to Tokyo before you stop being able to speak Korean, let alone any other language.”

“Changmin,” Yunho whines.

“I know,” Changmin says quietly. “I know.”

Yunho grips both of his hands in his and squeezes. “I haven’t been online,” he says.

“Unadvisable,” Jooyoung-hyung says.

Changmin looks at him and Yunho looks at Changmin looking at him.

“I mean it’s pretty much good, but you should definitely _not_.”

Changmin’s mouth purses.

Yunho lets out a shaky breath. “I want to meet the press,” he says again.

“Yes, fine,” Changmin agrees. “And then we really need to catch our flight.”

Yunho leans in to kiss him delicately on the mouth. “Love you,” he says.

Changmin crinkles back at him.

“Oh,” someone says, from the doorway. It’s hotel staff, sent to tell them their car is ready for them if they’re ready.

“Tell them we’ll be five minutes,” Yunho says, happily, still up close and personal with Changmin’s nose.

Changmin shakes his head at him, but grins back.

“They’re so cute,” they hear the staff member say in a too loud whisper on her way out of the room. “I didn’t know if I believed it but they’re so _cute_ \--”

Yunho meets Changmin’s eyes and feels so happy he could scream.

“Changmin,” he says. “We did it.”

Changmin lets out the world’s shakiest breath. “We did,” he agrees.

They go meet the press.

Like five of them want photos with Yunho alone.

The _Begin Again_ tour sells out.

\--

end.

**Author's Note:**

> :’) Gosh I can't beleive we're done we're here they're out it happened WE MADE IT. Comments and kudos make my day.
> 
> I used Sophie’s translation of the press con [here](http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sq4j8i) for most of the dialogue that is lifted from this. Creative license, though, because where’s the fun in parroting back the exact things they really said, also, this is a different universe. 
> 
> [Tumblr masterpost](http://zimriya.tumblr.com/post/177387825220/i-remember-when-our-feelings-smudged-together) || [Twitter masterpost](https://twitter.com/zimriya/status/1033467757025800192)


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